Staff Picks

August 24, 2015

I think you should usually read a book before you see the movie, but what about graphic novel adaptations? Should you always read the novel first, before you read the graphic version? I haven't read Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, but I went ahead and read P. Craig Russell's 2-volume graphic adaptaion; and I loved it.

If you don't know the story: A child's family is murdered (a blood-dripping knife is the book's first picture) and, pacifier in mouth, the boy climbs from his crib, heads out the door, wanders up the street and into the graveyard, where he is adopted by spirits of the dead, much as Mowgli is adopted by animals in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book.

And there's Silas, who isn't the ghost of a dead person but who isn't quite a living person; and there are ghouls; and there's this underground thing called the Sleer; and, most unsettlingly of all, in some ways, there are live human visitors from the outside world.

Different artists illustrated different chapters, but P. Craig Russell brought it all together wonderfully. Here's a link to the second volume.

August 17, 2015

Amy Falls Down is about what happens to Amy after she falls down: it’s a series of events that neither Amy nor the reader could foresee. Amy is a writer with writer’s block and a self-proclaimed hermit with plenty of caring friends and a newfound penchant for adventure. Readers get a glimpse into the writer’s life and the book publishing industry, as it works today. Amy Falls Down is a follow-up to Willet’s mystery, The Writing Class – the books share the same protagonist and several supporting characters. I read the books out of order, but I found that the enigmatic references to the preceding events had just the right amount of mystery, so that when I read The Writing Class, I was still entranced and surprised at the end.

August 10, 2015

If, like me, you grew up watching Harrison Ford play the swashbuckling archaeologist Indiana Jones - never without his trusty whip and worn fedora, always ready to get into a fistfight over some priceless relic or another - your notion of what being a practicing archaeologist is like is probably inaccurate to say the least. If you are interested in rectifying that, you should pick up Marilyn Johnson’s recent book, which provides readers a glimpse into the real world experiences of archaeologists working today at sites around the globe. No, there are no whips or Nazis or fanatical cults, but what there is instead is a fascinating examination of what it’s really like to make your living sifting through the debris human beings have left behind. It’s not a particularly glamorous life, and the archaeologists featured in Johnson’s book will likely never become household names, but what carries through is their love of the past and unwavering commitment to preserving history so that it can continue to educate and be enjoyed by future generations. You will walk away from this book with a newfound sense of wonder at how much can be learned about life in times gone by from the smallest scraps of pottery and wood, and with a renewed appreciation for those individuals who try to make the past a little clearer for all of us. And, if you’re anything like me, Johnson’s book will make you look at that rusty nail you dug up from your garden or the old, yellowed newspaper you found hidden behind your drywall in an entirely new way.

August 3, 2015

Rita Vincenzo, a middle-aged professor's wife in Iowa, and Glory Whitehall, a young mother in Massachusetts, begin a pen pal relationship through a 4-H address exchange for war wives. Though they come from different circumstances, they become valued friends, their letters supporting each other through the war. These letters paint vivid pictures of what it was like living in America during World War II- births, deaths, wartime temptations, anti-German sentiment, cooking sugarless, victory gardens, recycling tinfoil and censored V-mails. First time authors Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan have come together and written a detailed, unforgettable historical epistolary novel though they have never met in person, just like the characters in their book.

July 27, 2015

Stella Cameron is starting a new series, featuring Alex Duggins. It was originally independently published as COLD; it’s now available as an e-book and in hard copy. Folly is atmospheric and fast paced. In the village of Folly-on-Weir, everyone has secrets and someone is willing to kill to protect their secret.

Following a painful divorce, Alex Duggins returns to Folly-on-Weir, the English village where she grew up. She buys the local pub, and starts to mend her life. Alex is walking to the pub one bitter cold morning, when she hears a dog howling. She goes to investigate and discovers a dead monk and his grieving dog. The police suspect Alex. To clear her name, she is determined to find the real killer with the help of the local vet, Tony Harrison.

Not to be read at bedtime, the chapters are short, so it’s easy to think—I’ll read just one more chapter. Folly is like a Lay’s potato chip---you can’t stop at just one!

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